The Great Video Game Crash of 2013
by phineas81707
Summary: 30 years have passed since the abomination of the Great Depression of old, and it's mere occurrence is no more than an urban legend, spoken to get bad protagonists to do their adventures, or else the world will end. But not to those who lived through it. It's up to them to ensure there is never a recurrence. Even if it means losing what they hold dear... Final part on Deviantart.
1. A Legend is Hired

Mr Game & Watch wandered home late that night, thinking a little.

"Hi, honey. How was your day?" Mrs Game & Watch beeped.

"Same old, same old. Beep beep to the left, beep beep to the right. Having two controls gets boring after a while…" Mr Game & Watch stated.

"Well, there is that new business opening up down a couple of blocks of memory. Want to go check it out?"

"You know, this is why I married you. You're such a peach."

* * *

Mr Game & Watch showed up at the new arcade business.

"You are Mr Game & Watch, of Game & Watch Galleries?" the gruff security guard asked.

"Yes, sir-beep!" he stated.

"You are looking to start a new life?"

"Yes, yes I am!"

"Well… we are, sadly, out of jobs for one to complete. Perhaps later?" the guard claimed. However, he spotted an ape throwing three figures out of his home, and hung up a 'Help Wanted' sign.

"I think we just found our home!" Mr Game & Watch said, and he and his wife rushed to join in.

* * *

When Mr Game & Watch spawned in the stage, he noticed that he could see an entire business meeting on the table. He was intimidated beyond comprehension at the sight of so many gamers, but he quickly changed his mind upon seeing his new attire. He was garbed in a red hat, a blue shirt and red overalls.

"Hm... odd…" he stated. He looked around, and spotted Mrs Game & Watch captive on a higher girder of what appeared to be a construction site. "Oh no you don't!" he roared, and climbed up the construction site.

"As you can see, Jumpman makes his way up the girders by jumping over girders and climbing up ladders," the director stated. Mr Game & Watch noted his advice, and found himself losing less lives.

"Hm… good advice. But what exactly is this game?" Mr Game & Watch, or as he was now known, Jumpman, asked. He had never before heard of a plot in a game. The tales he had heard recounted in the Game & Watch Galleries had all had a hint of adventure, but none matched this brand new game! He climbed girders after girders, beating level after level. Eventually, the board meeting was wrapped up, and everyone could take a break.

* * *

"That was beep-tastic!" Jumpman said as he left _Donkey Kong_. Mrs Game & Watch, who found her name to be simply 'Lady', shrugged. She wasn't quite amused by being kidnapped by an overgrown monkey.

"DK feel you not like game…" Donkey Kong said, walking up behind the Game & Watches.

"No, your game was good. Just…" Mrs Game & Watch tailed off, not knowing how to politely say what was on her mind.

"Just… DK have no use for lone words."

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with being kidnapped."

"DK understand. DK accept if you want leave."

"No. I'm not leaving… Jumpman!"

"If that case, DK can arrange comfortable plan. DK good at that," he finished, leaving.

"I don't like him."

"You just met him. Of course you don't like him. If, in a couple of beeps, you still don't like him, we'll abandon _Donkey Kong_."

"Good point."

"You OK with 'Lady'?"

"No. Who would be?"

"Then I'll stick with 'Mrs Game & Watch' until the directors come up with a better name."

"Thank you. You are too kind."

* * *

Jumpman, who had been renamed to Mario following an incident with the rent in some warehouse, arrived home to his wife.

"How was your day?" the lovely Mrs Game & Watch asked.

"We have a new title coming out. Donkey Kong's son has volunteered his time to make a sequel to _Donkey Kong_. I've offered to take the place of villain, and good ol' DK decided to be the damsel-in-distress," Mario responded.

"What a relief. I'm sick of being kidnapped over and over again."

**Yeah. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have officially lost my mind.**

**...Oh, right. Plot has yet to happen. I assure you that this story will have a different feel, being a) not a sequel, and b) in a different layout. This b) line is actually a change to a more respected writing style. Please tell me if it doesn't suit me.**

**And yes, Mario is Mr. Game & Watch! I can't stop harping on about how stupid that sounds in hindsight! I chose it to make a Game & Watch story, of all things!**

**It's-a me, phineas81707!**


	2. The Crash to End All Crashes

Mario wandered out of _Donkey Kong Jr._ after a long day of work. However, he came to notice two Characters he had never met before come rushing up to him.

"Mario, my success. We have some issues down in the Atari division," Pac-Man told him. Mario nodded, in deep thought. The Atari division was horribly overcrowded. It stood to risk that the most danger was to be found there.

"Lead the way, good circle and noble alien."

* * *

It was an awful sight. Game upon game was reduced to **Shovelware** status, and many Characters who showed themselves were harried or out of employment.

"How did this happen?" Mario demanded. Pac-Man looked down uncomfortably. "HOW?" Mario repeated, but Pac-Man did not reveal his secret. E.T. shuffled forward, and took Mario's hand. He led him down to his own game, and Pac-Man's, who were conveniently placed together. Mario hoped to never again see the sight that met his eyes.

**Worst Game Ever** status. And the counter was trying it's hardest to reach a lower level. As he watched, more and more games were deemed out of order.

"Great, just great. I had a potential game I could beep with my son, but now we're probably going to have to beep it. And it's all thanks to YOU!" Mario roared, turning to Pac-Man. Many of the licensed Characters burst with the loss of their games in pretty much the same instant that Pac-Man showed a sign of emotion: His eyes were yelling 'Oh crap'.

* * *

Mario was effectively storming once he arrived home.

"Bad day?" Mrs Game & Watch asked.

"You have never had a bad beep before. Pac-Man's gone and destroyed the video game industry!"

"…I can name three things wrong with that sentence."

"Which beeps?"

"This new development does not counter any of my bad days, Pac-Man isn't bad enough to destroy an industry, and you never know what the future will bring."

"Do you think _Mario Bros._ will still be published?"

"Yes. But why are we calling it _Mario Bros._?

"Because it sounds a beep of a lot better than _Mario & Son._… and remember, it's not us naming these things."

* * *

A couple of years had passed since Pac-Man had brought video games to the brink of extinction. Mario knew, from the lone robot that had ventured into the new console's area, that there was one last push. Produce a great game… or the very concept of video games would become obsolete. Useless. Dead.

"Milady. My son. Donkey Kong. We are nearly the most famous video game characters ever produced, behind Pac-Man. However, thanks to his efforts, video gaming has reached the end of its beep. Help me beep the greatest game of all time…" he rallied. Mrs Game & Watch, the young Luigi, and Donkey Kong all nodded. They knew the risks. They were prepared to save everyone they knew. "You would not object to being kidnapped to save our world?" Mario asked his wife.

"Not in a million years."

"You would not object to being a bad guy again, DK?"

"I will be bad guy no one forget."

"You ready to help your father do something we'll never forget?"

"Right behind you, dad!"

"Then let's go!"

* * *

Mario began his quest to 'save' 'Peach' from the evil 'Bowser', saving the 'Toads' he found along the way. He could also ask his 'brother' Luigi for assistance. This was the way of video games… no real person would know that this plot was more of an excuse than they expected.

The game they tested had 32 stages, 4 to a world. At the end of the fourth, Mario fought a mook disguised as Bowser to proceed to one of Peach's 'retainers', who would spawn the following text:

_THANK YOU MARIO! BUT OUR PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE!_

This was the way until the eighth castle. Tired of running, Bowser faced Mario in a one-on-one duel. Mario dodged his fireballs until he could pass under the overgrown turtle, in which he picked up an axe to destroy the ground underfoot. This done, Mario proceeded to the next room, in which Peach would display this text:

_THANK YOU MARIO! YOUR QUEST IS OVER. WE PRESENT YOU A NEW QUEST. PUSH BUTTON B TO SELECT A WORLD_

Plot mattered not to this last throw of the dice. Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser completed the quest purely to provide a game for Nintendo to send to America and save the video game industry. Let it be said that the four succeeded. As the group watched the exact sales rise up, the label rose too. Eventually, it made its final stop: **Cult Classic**. The Characters all cheered.

Mario turned to the crowd. Two parka-clad Characters, a boy and a girl, knelt beside Mario, and deemed him King of video games, who would lead the Characters through good times and bad. Mario accepted with great reluctance, and exercised two necessary edicts:

"Pac-Man, you are banished to the furthest reaches of the Outskirts, and are forbidden to return to this fair land again."

"Let us never speak of this again."

Afterwards, he had no reluctance in removing his crown, and bestowing it on a worthier candidate… R.O.B.

**Now this story gets weird. Remember Pac-Man? One of the most popular, well-known successes of video-gaming? He's our villain. And all because of his programming in _Pac-Man 2600. _I have a funny story about this origin:**

**Originally, as Mario's punishment, Pac-Man and E.T. were to be sent to become new programming, in which they became Kirby and Link, losing memory and will of their original failures. Re-writes changed this, especially the use-by dates on licensed games, but Pac-Man's return was the same: the 3D Pac-Man games I've heard of, but never seen or played.**

**Despite not having played _Super Mario Bros._, I specifically researched the lines in the game, refusing to use the meme lines.**

**It's-a me, phineas81707!**


	3. Don't Even Blinky

It had been thirty years since the world nearly came to an end… and very few people knew this.

* * *

Mario and Luigi came home late one night, having worked on _Mario & Luigi: Dream Team_ well into the darkness before the last game designer left the building. Peach, who had felt like reliving _Super Princess Peach_ for the umpteenth time, noticed them entering with much less than their usual gusto.

"You OK?" she asked.

"Not particularly. That recording was annoying," Mario said.

"And my moustache hurts like crazy."

"Oh… any word from Donkey Kong?"

"No. He said he was looking up some beep report about something from 20 years ago."

"Twenty? Is it really much of a concern?"

"Everything's a beep when Pac-Man is involved."

"Pac-Man? Is he here?"

"No. He has not come into contact with anyone who knows about… beep. Clever of him. If I were him, I'd probably beep no time in executing revenge."

"If you know that, why did you give that punishment?"

"_Pac-Man 2600_ was such a flop, I'm surprised Pac-Man was continued."

"Hmm… you might be right… but still…"

"Mom, I know what you're thinking. And I completely agree. Thus, we should stop thinking about it and take a nap before our next board meeting."

"Are you sure you should be working so hard?"

"No. It's my birthday next week. Everyone's celebrating the Year of Luigi, but no one seems to care which of the 365 days is actually my birthday."

"Don't let it bother you. If you're up to it, we won't stop you from going to _Luigi's Mansion_."

"Thanks, but I really need a break."

* * *

The four beings spirited through the hallways of Nintendo. They had missed their goal of attacking during the next gen hustle, but now would do as well as ever.

"Remember, your goal is the young one. The older ones are far too wily for our purposes," their leader stated over a transmitter.

"We understand,"

"Do not disappoint, my ghost," the leader responded. Blinky shut off the transmitter. They were too close to several big names, and they couldn't afford to show themselves. Pinky opened her mouth to voice her suggestion, but Blinky shushed her for the same reason he cut off the commander. They reached the house of their objective.

"Oh, please, Blinky! Don't!" Clyde begged.

"Clyde, shut up!"

"Blinky, you do understand that we could get our butts fried here, right?"

"We don't have butts."

"Blinky, there must be another way!"

"The boss will accept no way but this. And…"

"Yes?" Inky took a step in to the discussion.

"Forget I said anything. The woman rises."

"Sexist…" Pinky muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

Blinky shrugged. He had reluctant, feminine and Inky as his minions. How he got in charge of this gang, he will never question. Peach walked out of the house, and saw the four.

"YOU!" Peach roared. Blinky had no choice. He pushed the button, and Peach was trapped in a net. "HEY! LET ME GO!" Peach shouted. Half of her was trying to convince her captors… the other half was hoping someone would notice the ruckus. Luckily, there were two who could respond.

"Stop right there, beings of spectral matter," Popo said, his hammer reared. Nana twirled her hammer, and kept it held in a rest position. This frightened the ghosts far more, as they somehow felt Nana could change that in an instant, and they would die a second time. Blinky recovered. He pressed a switch on the transmitter, and he and Peach vanished. No such luck for Inky, Pinky and Clyde. They had been whacked around Nintendo, landing in three different lands. Nana decided to note these.

* * *

Mario woke up that morning, ready for more _Mario & Luigi: Dream Team_. However, what he soon found was that Peach was missing. Luigi turned the corner, and found Peach gone too.

"Dad… where's Mom?"

"I was hoping you'd beep."

"Wait… is it my Luigination, or is Nana beckoning us?"

"Uhh… beep, yeah! We should talk to her."

Nana smiled as she saw Mario and Luigi rush forward. As Luigi stumbled, she reminisced about babysitting Luigi during games in which Nintendo excluded Luigi from. These days, it wasn't so big a deal, as Luigi tended to sneak to _Luigi's Mansion_. She left it a little too long, and made a showing of coming out of her mind to speak to the brothers… father and son.

"We had a domestic disturbance last night."

"Peach is missing. Unless this relates to that, go beep Red or something."

"Peach was kidnapped for realsies. The culprit was none other than Blinky."

"BLINKY? That ghost is going to get the old one-beep!"

"Calm yourself, Mario."

"Calm? CALM? Peach doesn't like getting fake-kidnapped! And you expect me to slowly beep her from a real kidnapping?"

"Yes."

"Dad, she's right. Where could we go to find Blinky?"

"Actually, I took the liberty of searching Sony to find Blinky's base. As it turns out, I was… a little reckless."

"I don't like the sound of that…"

"I knocked Inky, Pinky and Clyde into different Nintendo lands. As it turned out… we kinda needed them…"

"BEEP!"

"Dad?"

"Alright… direct us to the nearest beep."

"_The Legend of Zelda_."

"Let's-a go!"

"Okey-dokey!"

**And with that, Mario and Luigi embark on their next quest to rescue Princess Peach. This time, from the clutches of the evil leader of the Ghost Gang, who is obviously not Pac-Man.**

**And yes, Nana is a main character. This is why this story is a Smash crossover rather than a Mario one- it gives me licence to use the premise to my advantage. For those curious, I will probably go mainstream for the visited universes (meaning Pokemon is on the list), and this story is not considered canon should I ever do a story in future using the visiting characters (Zelda and Mother, mostly. Or Fire Emblem.)**

**'Luigination' is not my own word, but actually genuine game terminology for _Dream Team_ (actually, they use Luiginary).**

**It's a me, phineas81707! I need a new outro bad!**


	4. Twilight Plumber

"Halt! Stand and be recognised!" the guard shouted. Mario and Luigi had just progressed through Hyrule Field to get to the home of Link and Zelda, but they were stopped by such a formulaic statement. Mario understood his point, and reached into his overalls to pull out his golden star.

The golden star was an object issued to the main character of any Nintendo universe. It's programming made it impossible to be carried by someone of a different universe, and it couldn't be moved long distances by someone of the same universe. The back of this one was captioned _Super Mario_, identifying it's carrier as none other than Mario himself.

"Enter, Mario. May you succeed in your endeavour."

"Thank you, beep."

* * *

"Good morning, good sir. To what purpose do I owe this pleasure?" Princess Zelda asked.

"Your highness, the Royal Guard Nana has sent reports of one of the Ghost Gang being present in this universe. We were sent to apprehend it," Luigi stated.

"A member of the Ghost Gang? Hm… which would it be?"

"Nana cannot say for sure, as the three which entered these worlds did so without leaving any clues. According to the law of the Sorting Algorithm of Evil, it would be fair game to assume it's Clyde."

"Is this your assumption?"

"I don't think it matters, beep."

"Fair point, Mario. Alright, I'll give you passage to… wait, where was Clyde?"

"We were hunting for it."

Luigi and Zelda shrugged. Neither had the faintest idea what to do in this situation. Their standstill was destroyed with the rear end of the throne room.

"*click* You think you're so *whirr* strong, don't you, hotshot? *buzz* You destroyed Pac-Man's dreams… *clang*, so I'll destroy you!" Clyde boasted. Mario and Luigi narrowed their eyes.

"I'd prefer not to beep in a throne room."

"*whirr* Neither would I… how does *bang* Death Mountain sound?"

"I will second that movement, Clyde, if you'd get out of this room!" Zelda shouted. Clyde zipped away, cackling madly. "Nayru… Clyde does not seem the type to do that. There's something about him…"

"Not to worry, Princess. We'll Goomba Stomp this guy into the middle of next beep!"

* * *

Mario and Luigi had not counted of Death Mountain.

"Oh my… this looks challenging…" Luigi said.

"You could beep your vacuum cleaner… the Poltergust 3000!"

"It's not the most helpful thing in the world."

"Luigi, you have probably been to _Luigi's Mansion_ so many times it's no longer funny. And you enjoyed developing _Dark Moon_ as well. How can you confess you beep the Poltergust now?"

"I didn't say that. I said it's not as useful _in this situation_. I can't suck up any fire I feel like, and there's no water I can use nearby…"

"Well… beep."

* * *

They cleared the dungeon… somehow.

"I am never dungeon-crawling again."

"Nor am I. That was beep."

Luigi was promptly elevated to a higher plane. The Mario Bros… were on different levels. The pair began to note their surroundings. As they were doing this, a rumbling sound echoed throughout the cavern. Someone… or something… was coming out from the centre of the arena. It was Clyde. He was playing a war tune that sounded… not like a war tune. It was somewhat intimidating, though. Clyde's next action was completely out of left field.

_I am the Great Mighty Clyde  
And you have nowhere to hide!  
The grandest scrap  
Will come out of this trap!  
How about we smash a little trash?_

"What?" both Mario and Luigi exclaimed. Nevertheless, they engaged in battle with Clyde.

Clyde's attacking pattern was to slam with his specially-crafted fists. Not remotely threatening, giving Mario time to think about the attack pattern. He noticed an out-of-place question mark block, and he punched it. A Fire Flower came out, and Mario ate it. He became Fire Mario, and he threw a fireball into the exhaust vent.

"*click*!" Clyde let out.

"It's working! Do it again!" Luigi called. Mario did so. The exhaust vent could take no more, and it warped. It was no longer a weak point. Meanwhile, Clyde upped the tempo of the boss theme, and sang a second verse.

_Do you really think you escape from here?  
You don't seem to know just what you're in…  
I'll be the one to finally make you disappear  
And it's all to your chagrin!_

Luigi noticed a lever. He threw it, and magnets emerged from the corners of the arena. He threw it again, and they activated. Clyde's fists were attracted to these magnets, and Mario could lob fireballs into the other vents, which Clyde had not made available to him by constantly facing him. Upon breaking one, Clyde burst into his final burst, upping the tempo some more.

_Now I'm really getting rather cross  
You're like a squiggly Wiggler, a squirmy worm, a bad man…  
When I've knocked you right across  
I'm going to take you and shove you down my fan!_

"Your fan?"

_My fan!_

"Your-?"

_That's right, my fan!_

"Eurgh!"

_My fan!_

"Ewww!"

_My faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!_

The sound of glass cracking could be heard on this note. Neither Mario or Luigi could detect it, so they continued the fight. It was incredibly simple afterwards, regrettably, so all that was left was to destroy the final vent shaft. Upon doing so, Clyde let out one high pitched note, breaking the glass they had heard earlier.

Mario unleashed his fury at that point. He left no jump untouched to make it to the cockpit, which was the home of the shattered glass. At the top, he saw Clyde had a metallic stick attached to the side of his head. Mario broke this, and Clyde leaped back.

"Hold your fire!" he begged.

"Give me a reason!"

"I don't care for Blinky's plan! I'll help you defeat him if it'll bring an end to his and Pac-Man's madness!"

"I knew Pac-Man was behind this!"

**I admit it... I have a guilty pleasure in _Sloprano._ I wrote this for a cleaner version of the lyrics.**

**Despite this, I also apologize for the lack of _Twilight Princess._ I have never played/watched that game. Sue me. The title was only because no other game really fit that title... (or the story).**

**...Anyone have any _Mario_-themed _Zelda_ game subtitles? It might seem useless, but...**

**It's dangerous to learn alone. Read this. ...I am not doing a Zelda story before fixing this. My next story is already confirmed, actually. I might upload both that and this... or I may stick to this. Although I have noticed quality drops when I expect stories to follow. It's up in the air...**


	5. Blinky & Bethany

Blinky landed in Pac-Man's exquisite lair. Pac-Man stood up, and wandered up to him lazily.

"You fool! I told you to capture the boy!" Pac-Man demanded.

"But-"

"Do you want me to unleash Spooky?"

"No, but-"

"We haven't got any provisions for holding Peach!"

"But-"

"Peach has been kidnapped too many times!"

"But I had no choice!"

"Urgh…"

"She rises. Very well, Blinky. I'll leave you to take care of her. Do not disappoint me…"

"Wait, what happened?"

"Shut up!"

"Blinky? I thought you lost your programming when Pac-Man was destroyed!"

"Pac-Man restored me for the new Pac-Man games. Did no one tell the pretty princess that Pac-Man was restored?"

"…Oh, right! Blinky, you madman! How could you support Pac-Man?"

"Mario's judgement was unrightfully harsh. Pac-Man is going to change that…"

"You can't! When Mario finds out you've kidnapped me, he'll come and kick your butts!

"We do not have butts."

"That's beside the point!"

"This bickering is pointless. Goodbye, Mrs Game & Watch!"

* * *

_Bethany. Her name was Bethany._

_She woke up, not quite sure as to how she had arrived in this particularly weird world. Though she didn't know exactly how weird._

_ "Hello, beep," someone behind her said. She stood up, not knowing who she heard._

_ "Oh… hi…" she whispered, unnerved beyond belief._

_ "What can I beep for you?" the man asked._

_ "Well… where am I?"_

_ "This is my home beep. We call it the Game & Watch Galleries."_

_ "Oh… well… why is it _your_ home?_

_ "Why? Well… I believe it might be because I'm the main character in the games around here!"_

_ "Oh! You're famous around here? Well… don't let a poor old girl like me bother you."_

_ "But I'm OK with that."_

_ "What?"_

_ "I may be famous, but that doesn't mean I'm aloof from the common folk. And you are really adorable…"_

_ "You think I'm… cute?"_

_ "Yeah."_

_ She knew, from the moment the man said that word, that he was to become her soul mate._

**Short, but it's an interlude. There might be another after Inky and possibly Pinky if I can put content into it.**

**So I reveal it was his sled and put another mystery in it's place... who is Bethany? Do you know? Good.**

**...I've got two interludes to turn Bethany's romance into something to match Phineas*Isabella, Summer*Isabella, Phineas*Katie, Dark Pit*Artemis and Pit*Viridi, don't I?**

**It's-a me, phineas!**


	6. Gotta Capture Them All

Mario and Luigi left _The Legend of Zelda_ about as bruised as the programmers of Nintendo would allow. That wasn't much. They decided to go see Nana about the next ghost.

"Ah. Hello, Mario. Hello, Luigi. How was _The Legend of Zelda_?"

"Alright. Apart from Clyde bursting into soprano, it really wasn't anything that special."

"Beep. Where's the next one?"

"Calm yourself, Mario. Fury will not get Peach saved faster. Now let's see… I definitely remember the next ghost landing in _Pokémon_."

"_Pokémon_? That's… unique… do you think we'll have to catch any Pokémon? If so, what will we do when we leave?" Luigi asked.

"Good point, Luigi. In 2006, we had a solution to this matter. We borrowed and adapted the Capture Styler used by Pokémon Rangers. It will serve to help you defeat the next ghost, and the Capture Styler will release Pokémon when poised to leave their habitats."

"Wait, you _adapted_ the Capture Styler? I've beeped _Pokémon Ranger_, and this sounds just like the Capture Styler in that game."

"We use slightly adapted technology. With this Capture Styler, all loops drawn will stay drawn, Pokémon can use movesets instead of Assists, and they still can't leave their habitats. It's fairer like that."

"Understood, Nana. But where do we start our search?"

"Outgame, the Pokémon Rangers have bases in all regions. Report to the region's base, and ask around about any activity regarding Inky."

"You beep it's Inky?"

"No. But it's the more logical route."

"It doesn't matter, Dad. Inky or Pinky, we'll beat them no matter which.

"…OK, Luigi. I'll take your word for it."

* * *

Mario and Luigi entered the Kanto base, the region they emerged in. The base was not in any of the main cities.

"Welcome, Mario and Luigi. What business have you in _Pokémon_?" Leaf asked. Leaf was the region's Ranger head, as Red was not the type to abide by Ranger rules outgame. She was also the leader of the entire Ranger Corps.

"We are here in beep of one of the _Pac-Man_ Ghost Gang. Would you have any idea where such a miscreant may beep?" Mario told her.

"Not at present. We'll need to call in all Ranger Base issues, and you can judge for yourself. In the meantime, how about you practice battle and/or capture techniques?" Mario and Luigi looked at one another. This was not an ideal situation, but there was no alternative.

"Might you direct us to a battle arena?"

* * *

Mario and Luigi were sent to Poketopia. It was the most highly regarded battle arena outgame, although it wasn't as popular ingame. Mario chose the Red Rental Pass, while Luigi went with Blue. They elected to battle one another, and not disturb other contenders. Brock, a higher up in the Kanto Ranger hierarchy, served as judge.

"Gateway Colosseum. Single Battle. Mario versus Luigi. The combatants release their Pokémon… and the battle begins!" Brock stated. Mario released Pidgeot, while Luigi had chosen Luxio. The following battle was… what you'd expect. Mario elected to use Pokémon with more power, while Luigi opted to use type advantage. Luigi won, though as Brock said, a professional Pokémon Trainer would cover their weaknesses, and neither Mario nor Luigi had a strategy that would suit professional play. Luckily, Inky would not be better informed.

* * *

The pair returned to the Ranger Base, where Leaf had all negative reports throughout all of the regions given. Luigi looked at all of the reports and compiled a list of how each case would have been brought about, while Mario thought about Pac-Man's personality, and tried to determine how Inky would behave with this in mind. The two finished their analysis, and combined notes.

"Sinnoh. Cyrus returning in some way is what I'd beep from Inky," Mario stated.

"Sinnoh? That snow-covered backwater? …Makes sense. Orre or perhaps Kanto would be my guess… probably why Inky didn't choose one of them. Very well. I'll tell Lucas that you're on your way… wait, wait, wait… you need a partner Pokémon," Leaf observed. Luigi nodded thoughtfully.

"What are the options?" he asked. Leaf went to the computer, and loaded up the list of available partners raised. She knew that it would be better for one that could be returned.

"Well… Cyrus was known for his Flying types and Weavile, and Inky seems to use that team, so… I can offer Pikachu and Lucario. Those would be my suggestions," she told them. Mario elected the Pikachu, and Luigi wanted the Lucario. They were then given permission to travel to Sinnoh with the Dragonite Bus.

* * *

Leaf may have offered a partial judgement of Sinnoh. It wasn't quite as cold as she made it out to be. Mario and Luigi landed by the Ranger Base, and Lucas nodded.

"Hello, Mario and Luigi. Please, this way," he said, bowing them into the Ranger Base. "This is Dawn. She'll be able to offer assistance as needed." Dawn smiled. In one movement, she flung a Poke Ball up to eye-level, resting it on her fingertip. "…She's a Trainer." Dawn looked at the plumbers.

"Hm… You seem alright… OK. I'll offer my assistance… whoa, you have a Lucario?" she jabbered. Luigi shrugged, and nodded. Dawn rushed to the PC, and inserted her Pokémon into the slots. They were pulled into the PC, and an airborne screen was presented. Not letting Mario and Luigi see what was on the screen, she made some selections, and another set of six Pokémon emerged from the slots.

"Come again?" Luigi asked.

"My other set had a Lucario. It would be redundant if I used it," Dawn explained.

"Why the secrecy?" Mario asked.

"…Like I would tell you."

"…Makes sense."

* * *

Mario, Luigi and Dawn made it to Mt. Coronet. At its top was a dark portal, and some of the stuff present within it were reminiscent of _Pac-Man_.

"Well, if this isn't Inky's beep… it's Pinky's," Mario pointed out.

"I don't understand. Why was that Pac-Man creature destroyed if it was so popular?" Dawn asked.

"…Everyone around in 1983 has agreed not to beep about that."

"You agreed that."

"The less beep it, the better."

"The more know about it, the less chance there is of a recurrence."

"Focus, plumbers."

"Right."

* * *

The three trekked up Mt. Coronet easily. Dawn, as a full-fledged trainer, owned Pokémon that could make use of Rock Smash, Rock Climb, Strength and Surf. This allowed Mario and Luigi to focus on capturing Pokémon that could join the team to help defeat Cyrus. Mario opted for an Abomnasnow, a Graveler, and a Machoke. Luigi chose Chimecho, Medicham and Bronzong. Dawn was using an Infernape, Heracross, Garchomp, Mismagius, Gastrodon and Crobat. They all believed they were ready to take on Inky.

How wrong they were.

"Welcome, Mario, Luigi and Dawn. I salute you for making it this far… but there will be no escape!" Inky exclaimed. Cue rock fall blocking their escape.

"Mario… this might not be a good time to mention this, but Crobat can't Fly out of here!" she cried.

"Gastrodon. Can it Dig us out of beep?"

"Never tried."

"Beep beep it to beep!"

"Dad. Don't beep."

"Enough bickering," Inky called. He summoned Cyrus' Pokémon. Crobat, Gyarados, Weavile, Honchkrow, and… Houndoom.

"Dawn. Do you have a technique for fighting Houndoom?" Luigi asked.

"Infernape is more than good to fight it."

"I was worried there."

"I'm worried now," Inky complained. Mario transferred his captures to Luigi, and hopped behind the battle.

"You will stop this attack right here, right beep!"

"Oh no. See… I'm going to be turning _Pokémon_ into a game worse than _Pac-Man 2600_. Then… crash. It's toilet time for tot town!"

"…Beep."

"Was that an honest-to-Pac-Man swear? Did the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and King of Nintendo just unleash something that Nintendo has been striving to avoid?"

"That doesn't beep. What beeps is that I am going to beep you, and then you won't be able to beep." Cue Goomba Stomp.

"Pac-Man will defeated be never. Stop him can't you, matter try hard no how you," Inky said, before becoming unconscious. Cyrus' Pokémon shook themselves out of Inky's control. Luigi release all of the partner Pokémon, and Mario put Inky in custody. Gyarados removed the blockade, and everyone left.

* * *

"Listen, Mario, Luigi. Your partner Pokémon seem very attached to you," Leaf explained, once Mario was all the way back in Kanto. "Call them if you ever need them."

Mario and Luigi nodded, knowing that the chances of that were high. If Inky had tried to destroy _Pokémon_, Pinky, Blinky or Pac-Man could try anywhere else. They needed all hands on deck to quash the Ghost Gang.

**Remember the days when this was normal? How I long for those days.**

**Do you know the saying 'stick with what you know'? This story shows it to an alarming degree. Originally, Inky was going to be in Orre, Dawn was going to use a more well known team, and the Capture Stylers were going to use technology from _Guardian Signs_. Having not seen _Guardian Signs_, _XD: Gales of Darkness_, or a half-decent well-known team, I chose to use Sinnoh and _Pokemon Ranger_ details. Does this make the story bad? No. It would have been better if these original elements could make it into the story without ruining the _Pokemon Ranger_ series or _XD: Gales of Darkness_ for me, but whatcha gonna do?_  
_**

**Oh, and in case I didn't establish it in the above details, both of Dawn's teams are teams I have used in _Pokemon Pearl_... hence the Houndoom dilemma and the use of Lucario. Both teams ironically have a Crobat and make use of Infernape. I believe they have different moves, though.**

**Welcome to the Hall of Memories! (Pokemon can wait until I fix this, too.)**


	7. Headstrong Lass

Peach had absolutely no issue escaping from Pac-Man's prison. The ball was worse at interior decorating than Bowser, and Bowser's castles were specially designed with a way for her to escape while waiting for Mario. The matter might have ended right there… but Peach was not content with leaving Pac-Man with less than a slap on the wrist.

"Ah… Princess. Welcome. How did you find my humble abode?" Pac-Man asked, in such a cheery voice that it didn't sound at all like this guy was evil.

"Pac-Man. I don't care how bad _Pac-Man 2600_ was. I would have accepted you regardless. But trying to destroy the video game industry is just too much!" Peach bellowed. Pac-Man opened his mouth, closed it, and looked at the giant screen of Inky's failure behind him.

"Pac-Man, stop this madness at once!" Peach demanded.

"…Nah."

"If you won't stop… then I'll stop you! Hiya!"

* * *

The woman saw a news report.

"_Attention, citizens of Nintendo. In breaking news, Pac-Man and the Ghost Gang have been attempting to destroy all that we hold dear! It is unknown why Pac-Man has begun this plan, but our advisory boards have all agreed the best thing to do is to panic._"

She turned away, disgusted. She was the only person created after the first Pac-Man's death to know about him. She knew that this Pac-Man wasn't going to quit. She decided on a course of action.

She stopped by Mario's house. Using her key, she opened the door and searched the house. On the dusty table top lay a note.

_Dear reader_

_ We have gone to hunt down Pac-Man and rescue Peach. If we do not return, expect the end of the world as we know it. If we do, the next course of action will likely be dependent on Pac-Man's actions._

_ We apologise to all who call us friend. Defeating Pac-Man is our job, as the mascots of Nintendo._

_From Mario & Luigi, Partners in Time_

The girl read the note through several times. She knew what to do.

"I'm going after them… no matter the cost. Princess Peach… you have a friend in me."

* * *

_Bethany looked around the house, smiling. It was simple, and yet had a certain charm to it._

_ "You beep it?"_

_ "I love it, Mr Game & Watch!" she cheered. Mr Game & Watch moved to the window. Bethany looked over his shoulder. Tears began to creep down his cheeks._

_ "Is something wrong?"_

_ "N-n-no. Nothing."_

_ "Please. You were so nice to me. The least I could do is help you too."_

_ "…Alright. Game & Watch Galleries won't beep forever. The kids of today are always looking to the future, to the new and exciting. After they go… what's left for beep?"_

_ "…Tell me. Is there a Mrs Game & Watch?"_

_ "No. Why did you beep?"_

_ "Because this," Bethany said. She pulled Mr Game & Watch into a deep kiss._

**Well... I think there might be a legitimate question in this story. **

**Just who exactly is the woman in the second section? Why does she know about Pac-Man? Why did she go to Mario and Luigi's house at all? And why would she go directly to help Peach?**

**Find out next interlude! Next chapter is going to be Mario & Luigi versus Pinky. This mysterious woman won't have a bearing on that plot.**

**It's-a me, phineas!**


	8. Zero-Pink

Luigi headed home. He had mulled it over after Mario beat Inky, but had made the decision. He left a note detailing the direness of the situation. At the back of his mind, he nursed the thought that the readers would be willing to give a hand, but he also nourished the concern that the woman most likely to read the note would come too. Luigi was not sexist at all. He did not want any harm to come to that particular girl. He cared too much.

"Sorry about the wait, Mario."

"That's beep, Luigi. Nana didn't quite track down Pinky nearly as beep, so she needed a couple minutes to get the equipment set up." Mario explained. He looked around at Nintendo. No matter what anyone said, this was his home. He would do anything to protect it.

"Say, Luigi…"

"Yeah?"

"Say Pinky has slipped out of wherever Nana hit her in the first beep."

"Yeah?"

"Where would she beep from there? What gaming universe would Nintendo really hurt from the beep of?"

"…_Kirby_?"

"Exactly! _Super Mario_, _The Legend of Zelda_, _Pokémon_, and _Kirby_ are Nintendo's money-printers. The others are almost forgotten gems by beep."

"I dunno. You're putting an awful lot of trust in the fact that Pinky has left wherever Nana whacked her to…"

"Luigi. If you were to beep three ghosts at once, would they go much further than beep, beep and beep?" Mario pointed to three doors. The nearest doors to the royal palace were the money-printers. It made perfect sense that one should head to _Kirby_.

* * *

Nana turned.

"OK, I found them… wait, Mario? Luigi?" she asked. She did not find the plumbers, but she did attract the attention of a passing woman.

"You are looking for Luigi?" she asked. The voice sounded very familiar.

"Wait… Daisy?" Daisy flipped away her cowl.

"I was hoping no one would see me. I wanted to sneak into _Pac-Man_ to go save Luigi's mother."

"Good thing I spotted you. Heading to _Pac-Man_ at the present time is a complete and total waste."

"It is? What do I need to actually accomplish something?"

"You need Inky, Pinky and Clyde. Mario has Goomba Stomped Clyde and Inky, and they are under our control… Clyde voluntarily, and Inky is insane. Pinky is the last one left, and she is currently lurking is _Super Mario_, of all places. Surprising, right?"

"I suppose. Well… see you, Nana. If you see Luigi… never mind.

* * *

_Mario came back home dusty and somewhat forlorn. He had been playing out _Super Mario Land_._

_ "Mario, I knew this was a bad idea." Peach said, looking down at his dusty wear. Mario shrugged._

_ "I agree, but it was of beep not my decision. There was a little interesting beep in Sarasaland, though," Mario replied. Looking around his shoulder was a timid little girl with orange hair. Luigi smiled._

_ "Hey there, little girl! Are you alright?" Luigi asked. The girl shyly stepped out from behind Mario. She took a few small steps towards Luigi, before tripping over her own feet and landing in Luigi's arms._

_ "S-s-s-sorry…" the girl said, shivering._

_ "That's alright, little girl."_

_ "Luigi? Her name is Daisy."_

_ "Daisy? Beautiful name."_

_ "A-a-a-and you are L-l-l-luigi, right?"_

_ "Yeah," Luigi shyly stated. Daisy was lying in his arms a little longer than someone who accidentally fell into someone else's arms should do. Daisy looked up into Luigi's eyes. Her eyes, sapphire blue, were far too easy to be lost in. Daisy let go of Luigi's chest, keeping her arms on his._

_ "Oh, wow…" Peach muttered._

_ "Beep…" Mario whispered._

_ Luigi sighed. Daisy checked her locks. Mario and Peach decided to slip to one of the newer games as a flimsy excuse to leave the two be._

* * *

"Hiyi!" Kirby called. He was in a target range, shooting stars at Waddle Dee-sized cardboard cut-outs. King Dedede, who was throwing the stars, Dedede Jumped down to the plumbers. Kirby, in a showcase of skill, inhaled a star and blind-threw it at a target.

"Hello, Kirby. Hello, Dedede. Would you beep where we could find Pinky?" Mario asked.

"Right here, hoof!" Dedede exhaled, patting Kirby.

"Not Pinky the derogatory name. Pinky the member of the Ghost Gang," Luigi explained.

"...Pinky? Never heard of her," Dedede thought.

"But Kirby thinks Meta-Knight might know! Kirby can take you to him!" Kirby cheered. Mario and Luigi looked at one another, and shrugged.

* * *

Daisy stepped into _Super Mario_. The hustle and bustle was much different to the one she was used to. Though, she lived in a humble hideout, only emerging for Nintendo's games where she pretended to be far more stuck-up than she really was, and for the rare occasions Luigi was alone and not sneaking away to _Luigi's Mansion_. She wasn't used to so many people surrounding her.

"Ook ook! Over here!" Donkey Kong called. Daisy waved, and extracted herself from the crowd. She slipped her head into Donkey Kong's fur, and Donkey Kong led her to a more private place.

* * *

"Hello, Donkey Kong. How are you?"

"Good. But what is Daisy doing back in _Super Mario_?"

"I'm looking for Pinky. Do you know what conditions she is concealed as?"

"She's attacking from Void in dimensions."

"The Void?"

"DK think mecha best suited there opposed to some of other options."

"Well… I'll take down that ghost, and return her to attack Blinky!"

"You are confident. But confidence not enough."

"Donkey Kong… what could possibly help?"

"DK will send son to help. Son will be great help." Donkey Kong gave a hearty monkey noise, and Diddy Kong clambered down.

"Hello, Daisy," Diddy said, smiling.

"Hello, Diddy. Shall we?" Daisy responded, all business.

* * *

_"Luigi, are you sure you'll be OK in _Luigi's Mansion_?" Nana asked, as she had every time Luigi was going to sneak off._

_ "Yes, Nana. I'll be perfectly fine."_

_ "Very well. The time is gone when I'd try to stop you."_

_ Luigi left the house, only to bump into a small girl that looked vaguely familiar._

_ "S-s-s-sorry…" the girl whispered. The voice was somewhat familiar…_

_ "Wait… do I know you?" Luigi asked. The girl knocked back her cowl._

_ "Luigi, was it? My name is Daisy," she said. Luigi was again entranced._

_ "How come I haven't seen you more often?" he asked._

_ "I prefer to stay out of the spotlight."_

_ "I mean outgame. Surely you would have been big enough to be a more important Character."_

_ "I've been living on the skirts of Nintendo."_

_ "Why accept such a horrible existence?"_

_ "It's not so horrible when I can see you…"_

_ "Daisy?"_

_ "Yes, Luigi. Will you accept my offer?"_

_ "Sure thing, Daisy." Daisy soon had Luigi in a tight embrace._

* * *

Meta-Knight turned around in a swirl of his cape.

"Hm… Strangers. These are not from Pop Star, are they?" he asked, in a deep voice that seemed impossible for someone of the same species as Kirby.

"No! This is Yayio, and this is Leegee! They are looking for a big, scary ghost! Kirby is afraid of ghosts!" Kirby responded. It never ceased to amaze Mario and Luigi that the fourth-greatest representative of Nintendo could be so childish. He was only 21 years old…

"Hm… a ghost, you say? Pink, with a spiky bottom and big bug-eyes with square irises?" Meta-Knight asked.

"That's the one! Seen her?"

"…No."

"BEEP? Then how do you know what she looks like?"

"I gave that answer literally to see what your response would be. Pinky of the Ghost Gang resides in Dark Star."

"Dark Star has a very big, very scary ghost! But Kirby could make him go away!"

"Yes, Kirby. Yes you did. Now would you kindly direct these two to Dark Star and help them defeat Pinky?"

"Yes, Meta-Knight! Kirby will help!"

"You getter not get us beeped, or worse, beeped."

* * *

Daisy took forever searching for the Void between dimensions. Diddy followed behind, looking at her oddly. Finally, Daisy could take it no longer.

"What?"

"You do look cute, you know?"

"Thank you, but your princess is in another castle. Or in your case, up another tree."

"Who in Nintendo are you talking about?"

"Dixie Kong. Duh."

"You know better than anyone that Nintendo's pairings aren't the ones used outgame."

"…Oh, here's the Void!"

* * *

_"Luigi, she did what?"_

_ "Mom, I told you. Daisy is living in the skirts of Nintendo just to see me as I walk by."_

_ "That's not what I meant."_

_ "She told me that I liked her?"_

_ "That part. Luigi, you are just a boy!"_

_ "I'm not that young! I'm in a horror game, for crying out loud!"_

_ "That has no effect on your age. It is up to me to determine when you are ready to have a girlfriend."_

_ "Mom, you can't stop Daisy from liking me."_

_ "True. But I do have some other options for keeping the two of you apart."_

_ "Like what?"_

_ "I'm not going to spoil the surprise."_

_ "Mom, you cannot lay a finger on Daisy!"_

_ "Whatcha gonna do?__"_

* * *

Luigi shook himself awake. Towards the faintest corners of his mind, he felt the rushes of old memories before, but the Dark Star seemed to latch onto those negatively-associated memories and bring them out to the forefront of his mind.

"Luigi, beep! We have to catch Pinky!"

"It's not my fault this dimension consists of all this nasty stuff that prevents focus!"

"Kirby… scared…"

"What's wrong with both of beep?"

"You don't feel it? Dark Star's power flooding through you? You saw a truly horrific sight in the Crash. Surely you must be reminded of it now?"

"I don't beep about the past, Luigi!"

"Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it."

"LUIGI! That's it! Go home, now! I can beep Pinky by myself!"

"…You know what, I will. But not because you told me to, but because I want to." And with that, Luigi turned on his heel and walked away.

"Kirby…"

"Kirby, shush! We have to defeat Pinky!"

* * *

Pinky had hijacked Zero-Two. Kirby inhaled a convenient Birdon, became Wing Kirby, and started flapping like crazy. Mario hopped on top of him, and began firing fireballs like crazy. First in the eye, then in the band aid atop his head, and then the vine at his base. Rinse and repeat. Upon Zero-Two's explosion, Pinky was expelled from it. Mario Goomba Stomped her, and she was knocked out of her little trance.

"Ready to take on Blinky?" she asked. No one had a response… as Mario deemed it too obvious and Kirby was off in dreamland.

* * *

Daisy and Diddy both walked into the Void.

"Hm… where's Pinky?" Daisy asked.

"Pinky is not here. She's not even in _Super Mario_."

"Huh?"

"I fed Donkey Kong and Nana a bunch of lies. Pinky hid in _Kirby_."

"…You wasted my time."

"Perhaps, but you no longer have any time," Diddy said, holding up the Peanut Popgun. "Pac-Man has a little agreement for me. Destroy _Super Mario_, and I get a piece of you."

"Diddy, how? Why?"

"Like I'm going to tell you. That's novice villain style. Now, quietly cross your wrists, and we won't have to resort to violence."

Diddy had made a mistake. He had picked the wrong girl to cower with the promise of force. Daisy kicked the Peanut Popgun out of his hand, and sent it spiralling away.

"Not bad, Daisy. Not bad at all…"

Daisy willed her programming to change, and her outfit changed from her normal dress to her sporting attire.

"Let's see whatcha got, Diddy!" she challenged. Diddy willed his own programming to change and… nothing.

"Well… I got nothing."

"Good. Because now I can do this!"

* * *

Luigi stormed down a random path, somehow knowing that his subconscious was directing him where he needed to go. As it happened, he was directed to the Void. From there, he saw Daisy and Diddy Kong fighting. He watched, entranced by Daisy's cute movements, before Daisy moved for the final blow. Luigi jumped down, and embraced her.

"Keep your hands off me!" Daisy said.

"Oh no… what did Peach do to you?"

"Peach went into _Super Mario_'s code, and messed around a little. I don't know what it did."

"…Half-amnesia?"

"I believe it's called laser-guided amnesia. But I don't see what exactly happened."

"…Thanks for the Year of Luigi present, Peach. Really appreciated."

**I decided to change my mind. The mysterious woman in the last chapter was originally going to help Peach directly... and then Nana happened, and she is now in the story. Of course, it was Princess Daisy.**

**Daisy and Diddy may have been new to this story, but take note of their characters they have picked up. If I dumped it in their debut, it's obviously important. Is that how it works?**

**Astute readers would note that this is at least the second time I have used the line 'Whatcha gonna do?' I feel those who do not know this reference should be enlightened, for curiosity's sake. I have been watching LuckySevenDX's LP of _Jade Cocoon 2_ (don't expect a story until after it's finished, if I ever write one), and Nico (who acts like Navi) spouts this all the time! It's stuck in my head!**

**Does Kirby have a good sign-out? Apparently, spending time on sign-out worthy material does not allow these cash cows to print money.**


	9. Czar in the Caldera

Mario, Luigi and Daisy were not that friendly to each other as they all met up after that catastrophe of a hunt. They barely spoke as they took the Ghost Gang and headed to Nana.

"You got all three of the Ghost Gang? Awesome! I wish Nintendo would give me another adventure so I would be capable of that…" she cheered.

"Nana. Focus. What do we have to do with them?" Daisy asked.

"There's a door blocking Pac-Man's lair, with three slots for the three ghosts. We have to insert ourselves into it to unlock the door. As you can probably tell, we don't often leave the door locked!" Clyde explained. He wasn't even dignified with the crickets chirping. "It's fun-ny! It's OK to laugh!"

"No, not really."

"But I will enjoy shoving your beep into a hole in a doorway."

* * *

The six Characters made their way to the doorway, only to find four keyholes.

"Clyde?"

"I could swear that fourth keyhole was new…"

"Of course, traitor. We needed to up the security."

Blinky. The ghost had come out from behind the group, and five platforms emerged from the earth. Daisy made a move to jump on the platform.

"NO! Daisy, it's too dangerous!"

"That didn't stop you two from capturing Clyde, Inky and Pinky."

"Daisy, I care about you. I can't stand to see you hurt."

"Luigi, letting go is part of growing older. Now if you'll excuse me, it's my turn to capture one of the Ghost Gang.

* * *

**I recommend watching with Blinky's theme in Pac-Man World 2... here's a link: watch?v=qyfpzftJsYs. Alert me if the video is no longer avaliable.**

"I knew the other ghosts couldn't take you. I don't even think Spooky can take you. But we'll never know that, see… 'cause you won't make it past me! Especially since my machine's body is impervious to your attacks! I've always liked my Characters… extra crispy!"

Disappoint Blinky did not. His main method of attack was to fire amazingly accurate fireballs that only Daisy's expert reflexes could avoid. Not only that, but the fireballs left the floor burning longer than they would elsewhere. However, Blinky's weakness was the fact that he could not keep his machine firing indefinitely. He stopped at one of the outlying islands to recharge. Daisy leaped across to the island, and stomped on the glass of Blinky's mecha. She could smash the glass atop the mecha surprisingly well. She repeated the cycle.

"Time to turn up the heat!"

Blinky swept across the arena three times. Despite his giant mecha, Daisy still managed to dodge the mecha on the same island… albeit barely. Daisy could do two stomps while Blinky was moving... well, not refuelling.

"You are harder to fry than I thought."

More fireballs. Another two hits.

"Now you've made me mad!"

More fireballs. Another two hits while Blinky wasn't refuelling.

"I can see the others didn't stand a chance. It's time for me to stop taking chances and be done with you."

More fireballs and the occasional roast of a platform. Another two hits and Blinky's mecha exploded.

* * *

Mario and Luigi held their arms up. Mario caught Blinky, while Daisy landed on the floor perfectly alright. Mario turned to the door, and shoved Inky and Blinky into their respective keyholes. Clyde and Pinky jumped in of their own accord. The doorway slowly opened, and…

"Remember what I said about never dungeon-crawling again?"

"Remember my beep?"

"You two are completely ridiculous. I'll go… alone if I must."

No, that did not inspire Mario and Luigi to have a change of heart.

* * *

Daisy took about ten minutes to understand Mario and Luigi's points. Dungeon-crawling was a confusing affair… but she enjoyed every minute of it. After all, it wasn't that different to her secluded life. It was probably just the urban lifestyle of the plumbers. However, as Pac-Man was smart enough to _not include a dungeon map_, Daisy had stumbled into the dungeons first. It was there she found Peach.

"YOU!" screamed both of them.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hunting for, and hopefully beating, Pac-Man."

"I still hate you."

"Peach, I know you messed with my programming. I can never forgive you for that. But we have a _common foe_. I think we can put our differences aside to, I dunno, _knock Pac-Man down a couple of pegs_?"

"Daisy, you are far too… _wrong_ for Luigi."

"Is this how we must live? You constantly insulting me to 'save' your son, who's thirtieth birthday is being _celebrated by the game designers_, who have been _all but ignoring him_, just to blow off your steam? Not only that, but you condemned me to a fate worse than death. Peach… why did I even think you would help?"

No matter how guilty Peach had ever felt, it was nothing compared to this. Daisy was right. Was she really a better person than Pac-Man? Did she honestly think she knew best?

"You… you're right, Daisy. I was a fool. I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve Luigi's…"

"…Now that we've broken our communication barrier, how about we take down Pac-Man… together?"

"…He beat me without even thinking about it." Daisy was stumped. How could she possibly beat Pac-Man? The answer was lounging around outside, making casual conversation.

* * *

"Hey Mario!"

"Beep?"

"I just remembered I can help you bypass this entire dungeon!"

"BEEP!"

"Hey, I'm supposed to be a villain."

"He's got a point, Dad. I'll just…" Luigi said, before letting loose a shrill whistle. With a flash, Pikachu and Lucario were at his side.

"Take us through Pac-Man's maze, Clyde."

* * *

"Sorry I'm late remembering I know this place like the back of my…"

"You don't have a substitute to the back of your hand."

"Correct."

"OK. Mario. Luigi. You two. Daisy… come with me. Pac-Man has better escape routes than Bowser. Clyde, stay here and think about what you threatened to do."

* * *

Pac-Man turned around.

"Ah, Peach. What a pleasant surprise. Here for another defeat? Oh, and look, you brought some friends! That obnoxious clone of yours. Your weird son. Two of those Pocket Monsters I've heard so much bragging about. And Mr Game & Watch? Surely you jest?" he delivered in an oily taunt.

"The beep of 'Mr Game & Watch' means nothing to me."

"Mr Game & Watch? Of _Game & Watch Galleries_? Wasn't he in _Brawl_?"

"_Melee_, too, but that matters beep. Pac-Man… prepare to BEEP!"

* * *

Pac-Man turned off the arena's boundaries. The six in attendance looked around nervously, as Pac-Man clambered into a mecha of one of the more iconic bosses of significant challenge. As he did so, an unnatural vacuum somehow managed to pull everyone but Daisy away from the field.

"You first, loveless. May I finally put an end to your suffering at the hands of that-"

"Please, there are Nintendo Characters present."

"That's everyone here. I don't give a damn."

* * *

He was the Ultimate Koopa.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Pikachu and Lucario all rushed away from the field, and re-emerged with giant mines, which they then replaced themselves with. They all fled in terror, screaming nonsense words and Pokémon cries. That actually happened.

Daisy ran around Pac-Man, hoping to grab him by the tail. Pac-Man was wise to the trick, and turned to always face her. However, he did stop to unleash fire across the arena. Daisy managed to seize the tail, and swung him right around before sending him flying into Peach's bomb.

"So long, eh, Bowser?"

A direct hit! Pac-Man landed in the centre of the arena, before righting himself. He then chose a few more attacks, including shockwaves, but still left himself open to a tail-grab. Daisy seized him, swung him around, and…

"Buh-bye!"

Miss! Pac-Man slammed in between Mario and Luigi's bomb, and slid down to the infinite abyss. Daisy knew that this was actually the worst case scenario, as he could return to the stage, smashing a portion of the floor. That, however, did not stop Daisy from trying again.

"So long, eh, Bowser?"

Pac-Man slammed into the spike of Mario's bomb. Due to the laws of hit-detection, this counted, and Pac-Man was spinning in the air. He then landed on his feet, smashing a portion of the ground. He repeated this move four more times, until the arena was in a star-shape. With the points in between the bombs. Needless to say, Daisy missed. A lot. Luckily, the floor did not vanish with each miss. Daisy did win, however luckily.

"So long, eh, Bowser?"

"How? The Ultimate Koopa was guaranteed to not fail…"

"I beat Blinky. Ultimate Koopa is a piece of cake next to that."

"But I know what is considerably worse than Blinky!"

**Cliffhanger! And yet again, this might be a cliffhanger!**

**This chapter is dedicated to AnimalGuy001, otherwise known as Fawful's Minion. Mario and Luigi could not have beaten Blinky: they have health bars. And the cliffhanger doesn't involve someone worse than Blinky: such a boss does not exist.**

**Please offer feedback on the use of supplementary videos in my work: I want to know to make them work for my next story, which somewhat needs them.**

**It's a-me, phineas!**


	10. The Fate Worse Than Death

Daisy turned, looking straight at the man who had shown up behind them. Pac-Man took a nervous step back.

"Ukiki! This is what you get for refusing me, Princess," Diddy Kong shrieked.

"…Well? You actually going to attack, dinky?" Daisy asked, combing the arena subtly. She was hoping to see one of the others overcoming their cowardice now that Pac-Man was no longer in Ultimate Koopa form. Of course, that didn't seem to work, so she chose not to worry about it.

* * *

Luigi came to a standstill, looking back in pure horror.

"What if Daisy didn't make it? I don't hear explosions…"

"Luigi, I heard three beeps. Daisy won. We don't have to worry."

"Daisy's made of stern stuff. She'll never lose. Even if that means she doesn't necessarily win."

*Pika*, *Pikachu*.

*I agree with the green one on this issue. We must not abandon Daisy.*

"Uh, Lucario… we've been beeping that for a while now…"

*Nevertheless, I will turn back. It is unchivalrous to turn our backs to a lady.*

"I never thought a British jackal would be discriminatory…"

*You are the discriminatory one. I will be leaving now.* And Luigi was content to follow.

* * *

Luigi and Lucario weren't the only ones to have second thoughts. Clyde came rushing past Mario, Peach and Pikachu to the door, where he pulled the other ghosts from their locks.

"Ghosts! Pac-Man is in trouble!"

"Pac-Man has done nothing but hurt us. He does not deserve our help."

"Do you know what Pac-Man would have done to Nintendo had Mario and Luigi not intervened? Blankness. A life of tortured existence, knowing that the only reason that is happening to you was, in some way, the fault of either you or one you call kin. If we do nothing, that will happen to _Pac-Man_!"

"Right Blinky, Clyde's. Save have we _Pac-Man_ to. For it him not, for do us then it."

"...Inky? I did not understand a word of that."

"Selfishness can only get you so far, Blinky. A truly selfish person does things that suit him best."

"…Alright, fine. But I'm only doing this because I enjoy life."

"The that spirit is."

* * *

Daisy stood firm, ready to fight Diddy.

"Alright, monkey, this is it. One of us will leave this room."

"Bring it on, princess!" said the monkey, seconds before Luigi, Lucario and the Ghost Gang burst in.

"Reinforcements? NO FAIR!" Diddy complained.

"Oh, shut up, Dinky."

*Perhaps the monkey has a point. It is unchivalrous to outmatch a foe in a climatic duel.*

"…After all I have seen in the games, after all the final bosses which outmatch the protagonist, I really don't give a flying Nokobon."

"We can hash all this out after Diddy has been beaten!"

"I agree with him," said the entire Ghost Gang… except Inky, who said "With I him agree."

* * *

Diddy was operating a mecha which was probably from a _Donkey Kong_ game. As it turned out, Diddy has a secret weapon the whole time… _Donkey Kong Country_ physics. Luigi and Daisy were the only ones fighting Diddy, with one merely following the other and contributing nothing. Unless Diddy did not know how his mecha worked, it was possible he was the king of foxing. …Oh, the fight.

Diddy's main attacks were moving around, moving around faster and jumping. On paper, perhaps not the most intimidating repertoire. In practice, the attacks were so hard to dodge, and the weak point so well hidden, that it became obvious why the rest were here: to throw extra hits onto the arena. Daisy, the girl she was, first spotted Diddy's weakness.

"I'm going in!"

"What? You must be insane!"

"Someone's gotta do it."

She waited until Diddy had jumped and landed with the legs of his mecha spread, and then grabbed onto chain hanging between his legs. She whacked the base of the cockpit to the point in which she was flung off, the chain hidden, and Diddy was looking dazed.

Fortunately for the duo, Diddy had inherited the villain's tactic of repeating the move that the protagonist would exploit.

* * *

Diddy had a second phase.

When Daisy had finished bruising the cockpit, the legs burst off and the fighters were faced with a flying saucer. Diddy was safely throwing bananas from atop the saucer, with no fear of retaliation. Luigi tried a wall jump… before remembering he couldn't wall jump. Daisy tried throwing the banana peels up… but failed to make contact with the saucer.

*…Screw the rules. I have Aura Sphere!* Lucario charged up an Aura Sphere, and launched it at the monkey. Diddy had no choice but to swoop to avoid it. Daisy had the chance to jump on him then. And this is how the cycle continued.

* * *

Diddy crashed onto the floor, pinned under the cockpit. Everyone was relieved that the crisis was past… until Diddy grinned.

"Hasta la vista, baby!" he jeered, slamming his palm into the symbol in front of the machine.

_Now activating detonation device. This world will cease to exist permanently in five minutes._

"Well, darn," everybody stated. No need to guess what they meant. If _Pac-Man_ were to go under, everyone in it would come as close to dying as one could in this world.

* * *

"…Wait. If I stay here, I can block the explosion. I could save _Pac-Man_!" Daisy cheered.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!"

"Luigi, open your ears. Peach has cursed me. Thanks to her efforts, I can never love you the way I once did."

"Be as it may, I won't let you kill yourself. There must be another way!"

"There is no other way. I don't even know if this way will work."

"All the more reason to not do it. Daisy… like me or not, I care about you. I will not let you die on a chance.

_Four minutes until detonation._

*The princess is right, Luigi. Sacrifices must be made in war. Diddy has begun a war… and only a sacrifice can end it.*

"Lucario, this is a matter between me and Daisy."

*You are bellowing your arguments at the top of your voice.*

"Luigi, it's my decision, in the end. I will sacrifice myself."

"Daisy, how can I live my life knowing I let you kill yourself.

_Three minutes until detonation._

"Luigi… go. Just go. Save yourself."

"Daisy, if you're going to die, then let me die with you."

"NO! Lucario, stop him if he tries."

*You have my word.*

"DAISY!"

"Luigi… the truth is… there is hope for me. If I die, I'll be reincarnated with _Mario Kart 8_ or something. When I come back, I'll be restored to my original condition… and Peach has learned her lesson. She won't stop me then."

"Daisy, how can you know?"

"The game developers can't make a new game with a Character that doesn't exist in our world."

"Daisy…"

"I won't remember you, though. You'll have to start from scratch."

"…I will. It's the year of Luigi. I can do this… I can…"

_Two minutes until detonation._

"GO!"

* * *

Pac-Man, the Ghost Gang, most of the residents of _Pac-Man_, Lucario and Luigi stood outside the imminently exploding game. Distantly, they heard the robotic:

_Three. Two. One._

The explosion was quiet. It sucked in the entire world of _Pac-Man_.

"NO! NO! NO! NO, NO, NO! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!" Luigi roared. He ran up to the doorway, only to be stopped by Lucario. Behind him, he heard the final *ping* and knew that the end was upon the world. There was no way Daisy could have survived.

"No… no… I won't believe this. Daisy…"


End file.
